


Metamorphosis

by AluraEmbrey



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Love Potion/Spell
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-07-25
Updated: 2010-07-25
Packaged: 2017-11-06 16:42:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,388
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/421048
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AluraEmbrey/pseuds/AluraEmbrey
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Metamorphosis: a complete change of form, structure, or substance, as transformation by magic or witchcraft; any complete change in appearance, character, circumstances, etc.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Metamorphosis

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the 2010 Draco/Ginny Fic & Art Exchange on LJ. Nominated for Best Kiss and Most In Need of a Sequel.

p>Many people say that opportunity knocks only once, miss it and it's gone forever. Others would point out that perhaps the situation is a bit different. Instead _you_ must be the one to knock on the door if you truly wish to enter unto it. Draco, while dropping his books down in front of his shocked best mate and walking out of the Common Room door, could think of nothing he wanted more than to enter. So he would knock, pound even, if need be.

It felt like a race. Against what, he wasn't sure. Time. Life. Expectations. Anything and everything. In some ways it was freeing, a loosening of the tight collar of name, rank and assumption. In other ways it was humiliating to have been brought down to this low, this small, by a force beyond even the strength of magic or money.

Mostly it was just fulfilling to be this blissfully broken; to find that low was really the high. That the heat have given way to smoldering, the ash of new life.

The blur of shocked and confused faces raced past as the boy ran down the hall, ran as if his life depended on it because it does. At least the potential of a life actually work living does. His future hang in the balance of this one last ditch effort, hang in a way that one can not understand if they have never had the privilege to feel this sort of need, hunger and completion.

The throngs of people that thought they knew him and everything he was about could think whatever they wanted about his strange behaviour. He was beyond them at the moment, moving onto something far bigger and better. _Screw them._ Draco couldn't help but think, as he ran towards the entrance of the Great Hall, a man on a mission to save his chance at love.

 

* * *

 _Being female sucks._ Ginny thought to herself for the millionth time that morning. Usually Ginny was comfortable with her gender, living with six brothers hadn't given her any sort of penis envy or anything like that. Instead, having many brothers had shown her many of the good points of being female. For instance, being a more caring and feeling person, as well as having the ability to multi-task. All skills that females typically had in abundance and males typically lacked.

However females had one thing that males didn't that no one liked: Aunt Flow and all the joyous presents she brings.

Right now Ginny was suffering under the monthly visit with cramps so bad she wasn't sure how she had managed to walk from the Gryffindor Common Room to the empty classroom that she and Luna had been using to study of late. It was their tradition to get together every Monday, Wednesday and Friday morning and work on a bit of studying. The two had started the habit in their OWL year and even though it was towards the end of their Sixth Year now, the two hadn't stopped. Traditions are traditions, after all.

This morning however, Ginny had wanted to take their tradition and shove it so far up someone's arse that maybe they'd begin to feel the same amount of pain she was feeling. Pleasant thought? No. But she didn't really care at the moment. However being the good friend she is, the girl did not cause anyone any arm or stay firmly in her bed. Instead she was up at the ungodly hour of 5:30 and walking into their classroom. Man, some days she thought she deserved a medal.

Upon entering the room, Ginny saw that Luna had already been in, as evident by the Ravenclaw colored bag that hang from a chair, and the papers neatly stacked on a desk. For someone as out there as she was, Luna really was rather neat. Once you got to know her, you could see that even her appearance was quite neat and orderly, in a very Luna-esque way. Perhaps it had something to do with her being a Ravenclaw.

Another thing about Luna is that she's usually very prepared and quite willing to share. Ginny herself had forgotten to whip up a batch of Cramp Potion this month, as Quidditch practice for the Cup was hitting all the team players hard. Harry wasn't playing around this year, he wanted that Cup to cross off his Seventh Year. Luna though, always made sure to make some, and since their cycles were usually within a few days of each other, it was good odds that Luna would still have a vial with her and it wouldn't be the first time they had swapped this necessary potion.

Figuring that Luna was still off getting them their traditional tea to go with their traditional early study session, Ginny tossed down her own bag at the next desk and reached into her friend's. After rummaging a bit, her fingers coming across spare quills and parchment, a textbook and something she really wasn't quite sure what it was and didn't to know either, her fingertips finally ran across the familiar form of a glass vial. Feeling quite triumphant, she pulled the beloved vial out and turned it within her hand to read the label. _Cramp Potion._

Oh thank Merlin and Morgana. Popping the cork top as quickly as she could, Ginny downed the liquid in one gulp, going so far as to even wipe her mouth off with the back of her hand. A little satisfied smile made it's way onto her face as she put the cork back in and dropped the vial back into Luna's bag to be re-used. She'd have to remember to tell her friend she took the potion later, and of course give her a replacement vial once she herself had the chance to make some. Maybe this evening after class.

"Oh, hello Ginny. Did you sleep well?" The dreamy voice of her friend asked as she walked over and placed a mug on the table.

"Tea, just what I need, thanks. And yeah, I slept fine. How about you?"

"I woke up in the Astronomy Tower, though that was fine, as I've started sleeping with shoes on, just in case."

Ginny nodded, not at all weirded out by her friend's comment. This was the sort of thing you expected when you talked to Luna Lovegood, and after awhile nothing surprised you anymore. Instead Ginny just took a large sip of her tea, feeling the hot liquid hit her tongue and slide it's way all the way down her body. "Right, that's good then. So where did you want to start?"

"I think transfiguration. Professor McGonagall wants us to work on transfiguring our cats into pigs next lesson. We should go over..."

It wasn't that Ginny was ignoring Luna or anything, it was just that she was suddenly feeling a bit light headed. And Hot, very, very hot. Was her tea a higher temperature than usual today? Because her entire body was flushed and burning, on top of her cramps still being present. Great, just great. Her tea was too hot, her cramps weren't going away and she felt faint. Being female really sucked. That potion needed to kick in and fast.

\------

The rest of the day had not gone any better than the very beginning of the morning had. Actually, it had gone very much worse. The cramps had gone away, thankfully, but in their wake they left an achy feeling in all her muscles. Almost like the strain of a good Quidditch work out, but so much worse as it lacked the fulfillment and rush of endorphins that made a work out good. Instead, she was just achy, faint and randomly flushed all throughout the day. How she had made it through her classes without passing out, she didn't know. Probably pride and a dose of the Weasley Stubborn Streak she had inherited.

However at this late in the day, the cramps were starting to return and added to the other list of symptoms that she had, was nearly too much. So she had headed down to the dungeons to make a batch of Cramp Potion as well as some Pepperup if she had the time. Though with the way she was feeling, it might take all she had to get through the Cramp Potion and she might just have to visit Madam Pompfrey for the latter. Or maybe the witch would have something not so hot, as a drink that made her ears steam didn't seem like a good idea to Ginny at the moment.

Shaking her head to clear it of thoughts, Ginny focused instead on the cauldron before her. She had just started the flame and for some reason couldn't remember the next step. Which was odd, as her mother had taught her this potion the summer she had first gotten her period and she had been making it monthly every since. It was the sort of thing she could do in her sleep, or so she thought. Right now it was taking all her energy to stand, let alone think.

The room around her wobbled a bit, her feet lightly stumbling to keep steady on the shaky ground. Maybe she should sit down for a bit. Forget the potion even, and just head back up to the Common Room and pass out. It was a Friday, so she didn't have to worry about having her essays done and could sleep in all she wanted. Oh sleeping in, that sounded nice. Except, she couldn't find the stool that had been right next to her before and the room was getting wobblier and wobblier, her skin feeling like it was covered in flames that came from a strange burning deep within her soul.

"Ginny. Ginny can you hear me?"

A voice said, though she wasn't quite sure where it was coming from, as she was more focused on the fact that the ceiling had just become the wall she was staring at. The flames licking at her skin and her abdomen burning, burning, burning, as the room went dark.

* * *

Like most things between the two of them, it started as a bit of a dare, their pride and stubborn streaks unable to allow someone else to win even the smallest of contests. But to say that the entire unfolding was because of their pride, would be to wipe the happening of any and all of its value. Doing that would take way from them as people, from the very real, very true things that each of them feels as living, breathing humans.

_A hand haphazardly placed on a leg to keep from losing contact as they shifted._

Feelings are, however, very tricky little buggers. They are powerful and sometimes irrational motivators, causing people to jump and leap where caution and stillness is more appropriate. For those that aren't taught from a young age to control themselves, feelings can ruin and kill, help and heal, or all four at once if they are left unattended and unchecked.

_Brown locked with grey, firing blazing in them, setting them searching for a quench._

The downside of emotions is that without proper care and motivation, they can be easily manipulated. Magic can plant false endorphins creating complete euphoria, utter pain, anything the caster wishes. With the right plants and animal parts, a person can feel as if they've fallen in love, feel as if they need a person just to live and survive, the lack of them leaving the tinglings of need and desire coursing through their veins. In that case, who is to say what is real and what is not?

_Cool beneath the hot, spreading, calming, healing. Addicting as it pulls and ties._

But what is real, if not just that was we perceive and see, facts as we know them to be true for us. Reality is found in the mind, the perception of events, faces and feelings and the acting upon of all those to form undeniable existence. That which is real is what we make real, for ourselves and for others, that which we do not allow to leave and what we finally allow in.

_Raw. Expressions, emotions, potential, pouring, spilling, leaking, lapped up and memorized._

Allowance however, is not done with ease. For someone that has been brought up to fulfill the destiny of a name, allowing a change is to give up that mission. Emotions are harmful, distracting when one should be focused on the task at hand, on the building of an empire for all to see. An image must be portrayed, a carefully chiseled mask in life's endless masquerade. A mask that can no change without breaking.

_Something more, something new. Opportunity._

* * *

Coming to was a strange sort of feeling. Unfortunately Ginny was no stranger to it. This was the first time she had ever out right fainted, but she had been knocked unconscious before, thanks to her wonderful brothers. Once, when a joke of Fred and George's had gone wrong (Boy had they gotten in trouble, and Ginny had milked every second of it.) and a second time during a Quidditch practice thanks to a very, very well aimed Bludger. Too well aimed, if you asked her.

Right now was making time number three that Ginny was waking up after being unconscious and this time was most definitely the strangest. The burning from before was gone having made sure to leave her skin feeling faintly clammy in the aftermath. Her head wasn't spinning the slightest and her cramps were even gone. Hey, maybe passing out was the cure she needed every menstrual cycle? None of that though, was the strange part. The strange part was the feeling like she was being encircled against a wall of some sort and a dull ache in her stomach begged for more of something.

Whatever. Strange. She burrowed deeper against the wall, figuring the bed in she had been assigned in the Hospital Wing was just placed strangely. No harm, no foul. Her left kicked out a bit, trying to get comfortable as she attempted to go back to sleep, as she really didn't feel the need to get up quite yet. She felt good now and didn't want to ruin it. However her right leg left asleep and she needed to move it. Besides, she almost always slept with her knees curled towards her chest.

"Oi, watch it Weaslette. That's sensitive material you're kneeing down there."

Ginny shot up quick as a hippogriff that had been offended. She looked around the room and saw that it was quite obviously not the Hospital Wing and the wall was not a wall at all. It had been Draco Malfoy's chest. What the bloody hell? She scrambled back along the bed, ignoring the burning that ignited along her skin again the farther she got away. Her mind was far too focused on the fact that she had been in a _bed_ with _Draco bleeding Malfoy_ to quite care if she felt hot or not.

"Weasley get back over here, you idiot."

She gaped at him, torn between confusion and indignation. She was not an idiot and like hell would she be moving any closer to him. Apparently her face said just that though, as the boy snorted in an undignified way and rolled his eyes.

"Oh please, don't think that I want this any more than you do. In fact, I want it even less. You're the one getting to touch someone far, far out of your echelon. I am being required to consort with the riff raff."

Ok, indignation has just won out. "You listen to me Malfoy. I don't know what the bloody hell is going on here, but if you make one comment about me or my family, I will not hesitate to curse you. As soon as I find my wand, that is." She turned her back to him to finish crawling off the bed. Once she came up straight she saw that Malfoy was looking at her with an express that was part amusement and part annoyance, his brow raised and lips curved in a way that made him look far too good for his own good.

Woah, where had that thought come from? Malfoys, as a rule, did not look good. Not to Weasleys, because despite their typically pleasing exteriors, there was an ugly, rotten core that made even the prettiest face pointless. Humphing, she got onto her hands and knees to look under the bed for her wand, the movement making the ache in her stomach double, her skin burning just a bit more as a pull begged her to get up and back on the bed.

Quite obviously she was sick, yes sick, and Malfoy had obviously used that to his advantage to get her in a compromising position to embarrass her. Heck, he had probably even caused the illness. Yes, of course he had. What other sense did any of this make? And where the hell was her wand? She stood up, her hair falling in her face and she blew it away in annoyance.

"You won't find your wand down there, or anywhere in here. Lovegood took yours, just as Blaise took mine. We're stuck here, wandless, until the pair gets back." Malfoy told her, looking smug but still annoyed.

Her hands went to her hips, a habit she had unknowingly picked up from her mother, as her face took on a look of disbelief. "And why would Luna take my wand, exactly?"

"Well quite obviously so you can't curse me, as you currently want to do. The pair of them went off to look up something or other and gave me the instruction only to stay here, be nice and worst of all, hold you." A look of disgust came upon his face, as if the idea of being in the same room as Ginny, let alone touching her, was something that might make him puke. Arrogant prick, who did he think he was? Most boys in this school found her fairly attractive, thank you very much. She wasn't exactly big and busty, but she had inherited the Molly Weasley hips which many boys found alluring and she had very full, long hair. Ginny might go so far as to say she was quite pretty when she put her mind to it, so Malfoy and his opinion could shove it.

"Why would they tell you to stay here? What did you do, exactly and why does it involve me?"

"I haven't the foggiest." Apparently the look in Ginny's face was very readable again. "Honestly. Do you think I want to be in here? With you no less? And Merlin, would you get back over here, I feel like I've been running a marathon."

Ginny took a step back, her own body feeling hot and achy as well; she would never admit that to him. "No."

"Oh bloody hell, Weasley. Just get over here, you know you want to."

"Why you arrogant prick, you think..."

"I'm not being arrogant, I'm..."

"Glad to see you two are getting along so well." A new voice in the mix said. Ginny looked up from glaring at Malfoy to see Blaise Zabini standing next to Luna, having just entered the room. In Luna's arms was a book and she looked just as dreamy as ever. "Aren't you glad we took their wands?"

"Luna. What the hell is going on here? Why did you take my wand? And why is he here?" She asked, jerking her head towards her unwilling bed partner.

"Hello Ginny." Luna finally said. "If you sit down, Blaise and I will be able to explain. Oh and make sure to hold Malfoy's hand."

Merlin, now she was really confused. She stared at her friend as Luna and Zabini made their way over to the couch that had appeared just beside the bed. "Hold his what? Why?"

"Sweet Salazar Weasley, are you always this dense? That's what I've been trying to tell you, as you ran your loud, obnoxious mouth. We have to be touching right now."

Ginny looked at the three people sitting before her, expecting to see them burst into fits of giggles for whatever joke they were playing on her. That didn't happen. Instead they all just looked back at her expectantly and in some cases, impatiently and as if she were slow. At a lost for what else to do and able only to think that they were being serious, Ginny finally sat down next to Draco. However she did not reach out to touch his hand. No way, ho how. If he wanted to touch he, he'd have to do it himself.

A sigh lifted her eyes to Zabini, who was rolling his own eyes and leaning forward. He grabbed both her and Malfoy's hands and placed them in each other. Instantly a the burn cooled in her hand where it touched his, the feelings slowly working it's way up her arm. Ok, what the hell was going on? "Ok, explain."

It was Zabini that spoke first, as if he had been waiting to tell a particularly good story for quite some time. And maybe he just had. "As you may or may not know, Luna and I have been seeing each other for some time now. This weekend, tomorrow to be exact, marks our sixth month together."

Ok, Ginny had most definitely not known that. Well, she had know that Luna was seeing someone, or suspected at least, but she had never asked. It wasn't exactly any of her business unless Luna decided to tell her and she wasn't about to pry. With Zabini though? That she was not expecting, not at all. No wonder Luna had kept it a secret, she probably didn't know how Ginny might react to her dating a Slytherin. Granted, with Luna she might not have hiding, so much as just hadn't thought it was the sort of information that need to be shared. Luna often didn't think things like this were important, most often choosing to talk about nargles and other made up creatures.

"To celebrate, we made ourselves a little potion and planed to use it over the weekend to enhance our time together. Instead, I walked into my room this evening to find Draco facedown in his bed, looking like something the cat dragged in." Blaise paused to smiling dazzlingly at his housemate, a look Ginny was sure was not being shared. "I didn't think much of it, knowing that he had been drinking last night and I figured it had just caught up with him. However when I opened my truck and found that the potion Luna and I had made was gone, I realized what happened."

"What?" Ginny prompted, still not quite getting it. Let alone, what this had to do with her. The Gryffindor girl's confusion didn't stop the sinking sensation in the pit of her stomach however, as if she was just waiting for the other shoe to drop.

"He means, I took it, thinking it was a Hangover Potion and was not suffering from the effects of it." Ginny looked at him, harder, expecting him to explain more. She heard him sigh as if he were talking to someone very slow before continuing. "I felt flushed, achy and light headed. Overall, just like shite, though I didn't know why. Before even explaining anything he had dragged me out of bed and into the Room of Requirement where he shoved me into a bed. He said he was going to go look something up to help me, but before he could leave, Lovegood came in with you knocked out. So they chucked you in bed with me and then ran out after telling me to hold you. I didn't believe them at first, until Zabini made me touch you and I felt better." It looked as if it were taking a lot out of him to admit that I had, in anyway, helped him. " They didn't explain what we had taken, exactly. "

"Oi, what do you mean we?" Ginny asked, eyeing the boy next to her before realization dawned on her. "The Cramp Potion in your bag this morning, that wasn't Cramp Potion was it?"

Luna shook her head, the usually dreamy expression taking on a sadder look. "No, it was the potion Blaise and I made. I had planned to meet him after class and didn't want to go back to my Common Room to get it. I reused the vial I had, without thinking. I'm sorry."

"No, there's no need to be sorry. It's my fault for not asking first, like I usually do. If I had, none of this would be happening. Er.. what is 'this' exactly anyway. You two haven't explained what we took yet?"

Without saying a word, Zabini took the book out of Luna's hands and opened it to a page that was clearly bookmarked. He put the book where both she and Draco could read it clearly.

_**Honeymoon Magic** _

Honeymoon Magic is a potion used by many honeymooning witches and wizards to enhance their first time together as man and wife. The potion works as an aphrodisiac, enhancing the existing emotions between the couple and bringing them to all new heights. The effect is two fold in that as the emotions between the two heighten, so does the effect of the potion in the bloodstream. This potion takes two days to a week to run it's course.

Side effects include a burning sensation along the skin, dizziness, and an pulling sensation in the abdomen. All of these can easily be avoided by applying more physical contact between the two parites.

Ingredients:

5 billywig tails

Ginny stopped reading then, realization hitting her hard along the head. She, Ginevra Molly Weasley, was under an aphrodisiac potion with Draco Malfoy. A potion that would take at least two days to run it's course, if not a full week. Merlin!

"You dosed me with love potion?" Draco exclaimed from beside her. She looked up to see that he was glaring at Zabini as if he wanted the boy to keel over and die.

"Well, to be fair you dosed yourself. I didn't tell you to go through my things, now did I?" Zabini pointed out, not at all looking offended or sorry. Mostly he just looked amused by this whole thing, as if it were some sort of joke or really good show to watch.

"Alright." Ginny said, trying to be rational. "Alright, it says that the potion only lasts up to a few days, no more than a week. So all we have to do is wait it out. I'm sure with some Pepperup to counter out the symptoms, we'll be fine until the potion runs it's course. Right?"

Smiling in a way that made Ginny feel most definitely _not right_ , Zabini turned to her. "Ah, there's just one problem with that. Luna and I made it twice as strong."

* * *

Walking into the Room of Requirement that day felt oddly routine. It was only the beginning of the fifth night that their best friends were forcing them into confinement with each other thanks to unknowingly dosing them with love potion. Yet here Draco was, walking into the room as if it were an acceptable or normal practice to see a Weasley sitting on the bed you would be sleeping in that night. Sleeping in together, no less.

While essentially living with the youngest. Weasley, Draco had learned a great many things about her. For instance, she liked to do her homework as soon as possible after the assignment was given, instead of waiting. Likely, it helped that the material was then freshest in her mind and then she would have on less thing to worry about later on. It also had to do with the intense Quidditch practices Potter was apparently putting the Slytherin Team under (for no reason, because they were going to lose). Though the Gryffindor had somehow made herself exempt from those this week. Draco didn't know how, but thought it likely involved blackmail.

He could respect that.

The boy couldn't help but snort softly to himself as he watched the girl wave her wand in a manner that was supposed to be like the book she was reading, but wasn't anything at all. She did it again, once, twice, three times before shaking her head in sheer frustration, her mane of red shimmering in the firelight.

Without telling his body to, he walked over to where she sat with her back to him. His placed his hand on hers where it lay in the air, coolness running up and down his arm, through his chest and the rest of his body. "Like this." He used his hand to move her arm in the correct arm motion, a motion that would not result in someone losing an eye unlike her attempt. Just in case, he did it again, and again, since he didn't want to have to show her this again. Best to get it right the first time and save the trouble. Right?

"Thanks." She said softly once he had finished, both their arms now suspended in the air.

Draco nodded to her as he let go of her arm, the burn coming back, not satisfied with such a short touch. After a full day of not touching Weasley, his body was beginning to ache and burn for it. Not as badly as it bad before, but still enough to be a distraction until he finally managed to get settled and comfortable in a position that allowed for them to touch and work at the same time. Strangely, the two had been good at finding such a system. The pressure of necessity had helped, he was sure.

Throwing down his own bag, not bothering with any of his work for now, Draco lay down on the bed and stare at the ceiling. His classwork could wait until he felt like doing it. Besides, anything that was due tomorrow had already been finished, so there was no rush. Everything else was due Monday or later and he would have the entire weekend to work on it. For now, he could just lay.

A few moments later coolness started racing up his leg and he didn't bother to look up to see that Weasley had moved back onto the bed next to him, intertwining their feet to keep in contact. Draco allowed his eyes to close as he lay there, nothing to do except bother the girl next to him and even that didn't seem to be too interesting at the moment. She would only end up getting snippy at him for interrupting her concentration and then her mood would linger the entire night, putting him in a bad mood as well.

"I'm bored with this now. What do you want to play?" The voice of his bedmate asked from somewhere just above his head.

Draco could feel his lips curving upwards at the sound. "How about Go Fish?"

* * *

"Go fish." Ginny heard the sitting across the table from her say. It was night number five for the drugged duo and they were passing the time after their Thursday classes by playing cards. Over the last few days they had tired of Wizard's Chess, expired Exploding Snap and been through all the versions of Poker except for strip. Now they had resorted to the classic fall back game for people of all ages.

"Bullocks, you're just making be go fish to mess with me, aren't you."

Draco looked over the top of his cards, smiling in a way that would be innocent if not for the gleam lighting his grey eyes. "Of course not."

Ginny glared at him as she reached to picked up her card. Though she was unable to keep the slight upward curve of her lips off of her face, the action causing her feet to fidget nervously against his. The pair had soon learned that sitting holding hands all the time was not only annoying and tiresome after a while, but very impractical. It made it difficult to each, finish classwork, play cards, etc. Instead, they had decided that they could simply go barefoot and interlock at the ankles as they sat. Perfect solution.

Except for the fact that her leg would occasionally twitch against his without her say so, and she'd be able to feel the way his skin was soft and smooth, hot but cooling against hers.

She watched out the corner of her eyes as Malfoy looked towards the clock. Ginny didn't know what time it was exactly, but she knew it had to be getting late. If the two of them were going to be able to get up in time to get back to their dorms, change and appear as if they had slept there, then they needed to go to bed soon. In the past few days, they had created a reluctant but doable routine. Sleep by midnight, up by six, when either Luna or Blaise would show up to give them their wands back, and then off through their day. The burning lessened by the nights they spent curled up in each other.

"It's nearly midnight." He said once turning back to her.

Without really thinking about it, she lifted her head to check the time for herself. Right, just a couple of minutes till midnight. She nodded to him once, not saying anything. Instead she reached out her hand and waited for him to place his remaining cards there. She took them without really looking up, her other hand moving to pick up the pile on the table, before adding in the ones from her hand and his hand. Soon the deck was no long a pile of mess or separate possibilities of winning, it was just a deck of cards. No one had won.

Separating for the first time in a couple hours, Ginny got up, expecting the rush of heat to return at the loss of contact. A breath escaped her in a sharp hiss, no matter how soft she tried to make it. The fire always came back, the heat and the need, even if not quite as overwhelmingly powerful as before. At this point it was bearable, almost welcome, like the rush after a good, hard lap around the pitch. Your body feeling oddly raw, but tingling with energy yet to be spent.

It only took a couple of minutes for the two of them to change behind their opaque screens, screens that Ginny had insisted upon. She didn't need him looking at her as she changed, she wasn't a slag or anything. In no time they were in bed. Laying a foot away from each other, their hands held in each other's, even though they knew that in the morning they'd find themselves curled into each other.

"Good night Draco."

* * *

 _Two days done._ Draco coached himself as the water ran through his hair and down his back. His third shower of the day, mind, and like all the other ones he'd had the past couple days, it was ice cold. The first morning after talking to Blaise and Luna, Draco had tried to go on with life as normal as possible. That was a little bit of a headache and a blush to a Malfoy? Nothing, of course. Malfoys may not exactly be hot shit, but they certainly have toe appear to be. Draco could totally get through this with no issue and his pride intact. That idea had lasted all of four hours before Draco found himself in the showering during lunch, dousing himself with cold water to keep the burning at bay.

The day before, Draco had nearly passed out in the middle of the morning NEWT Potions prep class Snape was having him help host, the cool of the dungeon air doing nothing to sooth his skin. Still the room had spun, and the fire had burned within him, his mind unable to do any sort of real thinking. All he could think of was a mantra of self-control ( _Must stay still. Must keep eyes ahead. Must stay awake._ ) before nearly running out of the classroom, ignoring Snape's questioning, yet knowing look, and heading towards the nearest shower stall.

Just earlier today, in the middle of the boy had begun to feel so faint and hot, he'd nearly transfigured his study partner's head instead of his hand. His stomach had been churning and burning so much that it had momentarily rendered him incapable of thinking anything but the most primal of thoughts, his fine training gone in the wake of aching need. Good thing it was only Blaise that had been in danger. Blaise, whom Draco partially blamed for this whole ordeal. Who or what had given him and that Loony Lovegood the bright idea of brewing a Honeymoon Potion?

Not to mention, why was Blaise even with the girl in the first place? Sure she had a nicely large chest and was probably smart somewhere beyond all the nonsensical bullocks, but she was a string-bean. No curves or anything to hold onto.

Hips, now that was the thing for Draco. Hips and hair. Perhaps it was some primal part of him that was searching for a suitable mate to bear his offspring, but some shapely hips did it for him. It made a girl look real, mature even. Instead of looking like a pre-pubescent child. As for the hair, had to be long. Straight or curly didn't much matter, it just had to be something he could run his fingers through.

Merlin, this train of thought was not doing him any good. He had come in here to cool down from feeling achy and needy all day. The last thing he needed was to start day dreaming and get him all worked up. Again.

_Just a few more days._ He reminded himself as he dried off and began to get dressed. Then he could get back to lift as he knew and loved it. He just had to get through the week, avoid the youngest Weasel and not go bark raving mad. Seemed simple enough. It's easy to hide madness when you're a Malfoy; most of them are half-mad anyway.

But as he made hi way out of the dungeons and headed towards the Great Hall for diner, the flames erupted again. They were so hot and fast you'd think he'd have just walked out of a volcano, not the shower less than five minutes ago. The pit of his stomach ached with a hunger he couldn't describe, one that did not ask for food, and his mind felt cloudy and needy. All in all, it was not a happy Draco that approached the Great Hall doors, and he was even more unhappy when he slammed right into someone.

"Do try and watch where you're going," Draco started out, the full Malfoy sneer in place to match the icy tone of his voice. Just about the only icy thing on him, he fleetingly thought to himself before he realized exactly who he ran into. A ball of long red hair was in his face, the flame of it beckoning him to get closer, to burn till he cooled. The rest of the insult that was on his tongue melted away.

"Oi, Malfoy. You ran into me." The youngest Weasley pointed out, seemingly not under the same strain to speak that he was. "I was standing perfectly still, thank you very much."

Feeling his tempter flare higher and higher, Draco took a great shuddering breath and took a step closer, his face forming into the one he usually used for mockery. "And who exactly told you to stand in a door way, Weaslette? Or perhaps that's the only place you have to stand in your house? "

Draco watched as the girl's face turned into an express he could only label as 'venomous' and he would be quite scared of it if it weren't for the fact that a) they were standing in the middle of a crowded hall and b) Malfoys do not run scared. They may gracefully retreat to regroup and attack when the advantage is their own, but they do not run. There is a difference.

"I told you, you self-absorbed prat, that you only had one more time to make a comment about my family before I cursed you."

"Oh yes, because I'm so scared of you Weasley. Have you forgotten that I am larger and older than you are? I'm obviously the clear winner here, even without trying."

Ginny smiled scarily, a smile truly worthy of a Slytherin he might add, before taking a step closer, her face in his face. "You forget that I grew up with Fred and George."

Ok, fair point. But at the moment the threat that hung in the air was not exactly at the forefront of his mind. Instead his treacherous thoughts were swirling in the deep brown of her eyes. He could smell the scent of her skin, only an inch away from his own, taste the breath as it left her mouth and entered his own (sweet, smooth, inviting). The two couldn't have been more than an inch or two apart at any point of their bodies and still if felt like too far. The burning in his stomach ran at an alarming rate, racing against the beat of his heart.

His right hand began moving on its own, a fraction of an inch in the two short moments that they stared at each other. Moving to touch and twist in the burning halo that surrounded her.

"Draco!" Blaise's voice said suddenly from his left. He pushed back from the Weasley and stood up ramrod straight, a posture that would make his mother proud.

"Yes, Zabini?"

Blaise however was not affected by the deadpan tone that Draco had assumed at the interruption. Instead he simply smiled a bit broader and clapped his hand on his best mate's back. Draco raise a brow at him in further inquiry, wondering if Blaise was putting on a show to help the people watching forget about how close he and Weasley had been before. The other Slytherin boy gave a small nod of his head, so small that no one would see it unless they were looking for it.

"I do so need your help with something, come with me."

Draco gave a stage sigh, his breath coming out hot and plain now, skin sizzling along the air. "I was heading to diner before I was rudely interrupted, actually."

"Ah, well that can wait. Come, come." Blaise said, not taking no for an answer, as if he truly did need something from Draco aside from getting him far, far away from his current location. He even went so far as to give Malfoy a tiny little shove to get him moving, which Draco returned with a very real glare before following alongside his friend. From the corner of his eye he could see Lovegood leading Weasley away in the opposite direction. Good.

Heading at first towards the dungeons, Draco began to start breathing a little easier. Perhaps he would have Blaise nick him something from the kitchens and then take a bath. Yes, a nice cool, relaxing bath to ease away the hot tension in his muscles. It sounded perfect, aside from the fact that he had just been in the shower less than half an hour ago and it was ridiculous that he would feel the need to go back. But that was neither here nor there at the moment.

However instead of heading down, at the last moment Blaise started heading up the stairs. Up and up he went, Draco following along dutifully before the two of them reached the door of the Room of Requirement. Ah, even better. This way they would be in absolute peace. As they entered, he opened his mouth to congratulate his best mate on his good thinking before he realized that the room was in use. By Weaslette and Lovegood. Blaise hadn't been helping him find a place to cool off at all, he had simply been taking him the long way around to the same place Weasley was. Damn him.

"You have fun in here, Blaise; I'll be going back to the Common Room now. Excuse me." Draco started, but he only made it about half a turn before he felt hands on his shoulders making him face straight again.

"Oh, no, no, no. I don't think so. This has gone on long enough. I shouldn't have let you go one for two days really, but I thought that even you and your stubborn pride would concede after a day of the effects." The dark skinned boy said as he guided Draco to the couch Ginny was sitting on.

What a mistake Blaise had made. Never underestimate the Malfoy pride; it's the very crux of the family name. It is what leads and has always led them to power and riches. It had endured generations of trial and tribulation, war and loss, pain and pleasure, all to ultimately lead to more riches and more power. When pride was at stake, there was next to nothing a Malfoy could not due, as it was in their very blood to honour their family name. So for what reason did Blaise think that Draco would bow down to a few drops of potion?

"However knowing you as I do, I now realize that I was being stupid." Blaise admitted.

"Too right." Draco agreed as he turned to face his friend, a smug smile tugging on his lips for just a moment before Blaise gave him a small shove and Draco fell onto his backside. On the couch. Next to Weasley. Damn again.

"So for the past two days I've watched Draco practically burn himself to death from the inside out trying to fight this potion, and I assume the same thing has been happening to you Ginny." The other Slytherin boy started. Draco cut his eyes to Ginny to see her reaction, and noticed that her cheeks were slightly red as if she were blushing at the accusation. Or maybe that was just an effect of the potion.

"To solve this little ordeal without anyone getting hurt, Luna and I have come up with a plan. You two, that is Draco and Ginny, are two spend your nights together, indulging in a minimum amount of physical contact for the duration of the potion.

"And how is that going to keep someone from getting hurt?" Ginny asked, voicing just the thoughts in Draco's own mind. "And how about not."

"We'll be taking your wands, of course." Luna pointed out, as if it were the simplest thing in the world. "And the room has been asked not to let you two go until either Blaise or I return to fetch you."

"And what's to stop us from requiring it to let us go?" Draco pointed out.

Luna turned to look at him, her blue eyes deep and clear, almost scary in their clarity. "Why, because I came in first. I'm the one that created as it stands."

Well bullocks. There was that sanity hidden underneath all the loose marbles. And there was Blaise, looking at her with an oddly fond expression, as if what she had said was the grandest thing in the world. Far from it. He glared at his friend with the darkest look he could muster under all the heat he was feeling. He felt the hairs on the right side of his body, the side closest the Weaslette, rising and twisting, being pulled to her like magnets. Somehow, without realizing it, his body had begun leaning in her direction and if he was not mistaken, so had hers.

Ok, this was doable. He had touched her the other day and it was fine. In fact, one might even be able to call it enjoyable. As deplorable of a person as Weasley might be on the inside, on the outside she was a full-bodied woman with hips to prove it. He had not minded holding them as she slept before. In fact, a part of him, a very male part, had even liked it. Perhaps the key to all of this was to get Weasley to simply shut up. With her mouth shut, she could be good looking.

Turning to Weasley with his most charming of smiles, he reached his hand out to her. "What do you say Weasley, truce?" Yes, he was asking for a truce. As had been said before, Malfoys know when to fall back and fight another day. Today was not the day to fight, he could tell that now. There would be other chances.

"I'm going to regret this." She mumbled to herself as she placed her hand in his, the cooling instantaneous as their fingers clasped.

\------

Agreeing to work with the Weaslette was not nearly as easy as it sounded. Draco has decided to default onto his good manors and gentlemanly home training in order to get Weasley to act right. It seemed though, that the girl was born and bred to resist any and all attempts at politeness. Any time he tried to be nice to her, offer her the first pick or to pull out her chair, she would glare at him and become intentionally obstinate. That's when it became war.

_"Weasley, could you please stop moving. I can't sleep if you're constantly thrashing about."  
"I'm not thrashing, you prick. I'm trying to get comfortable."  
"How hard is it? You lay down. Done."  
"Not everyone is as easy as you are Malfoy."  
 **Ginny: 1 - Draco: 0**_

"Oi, Malfoy! What did I tell you about touching?"  
"I believe touching is the whole point of this arrangement."  
"Inappropriate touching, I mean. I don't appreciate waking up to find your hands on my waist."  
"This coming from the person who had a hand on my arse last night."  
"I did no such thing!"  
"Oh and I suppose that was Peeves playing a prank then."  
"Must have been, because there's no way I touched your arse no matter how nice it is."  
"Oh, so you think I have a nice arse."  
 **Ginny: 1 - Draco: 1**

"I'm bored. Let's play a game."  
"I'm sorry what?"  
"I said that I am bored and want to play a game."  
"I heard you the first time Weasley, it's called a rhetorical question."  
"It's called I don't care, what do you want to play?"

"Chess."  
"Are you sure, Malfoy? I wouldn't want to ruin your ego when I kick your arse."  
"Get the pieces, Weasley."  
 **Ginny: 2 - Draco: 1**

"If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?"  
"Are we really going to play this game?"  
"Why not, I'm not asking you what color knickers you're wearing or anything."  
"Wouldn't you like to know."  
"Just answer the question Weaslette."  
"China."  
"America."  
"What?"  
"I want to go to America."  
"And why is that?"  
"You can be anything there."  
 **Ginny: 2 - Draco: 2**

* * *

_Rah-ta-tat-tat. Rah-ta-tat- **tat**. Rah-ta-tat- **TAT**._

"Ginny, stop bloody tapping your fingers." Her brother snapped at her from across their shared study table.

The girl paused her fingers, looking down at them as if they didn't even belong to her. To be honest, she hadn't realized that she was tapping her fingers. In fact she hadn't known she was doing much of anything, as she had failed in managing to concentrate or do anything thus far. Unless you counted staring aimlessly out the window, the spring sun pointlessly shining on her face.

For most people it was a bright and shining Saturday morning, one of the first clear and warm weekends of the year, so warm you could walk around without any sleeves. From where she sat with her brother and his friends, she could see kids of various years wandering around the lake and grounds, all happy and warm. It was the perfect day to relax and enjoy life. Instead she was spending it in an unused classroom, staring at pages of meaningless words.

Her skin felt cold, normal, after what she had lived with this past week. The sun's rays nothing compared to the burning fire that had lived within her belly. The endless sizzle beneath her skin, clouding her mind, her body needy and wanting. It had been hell, just as everyone always described it, but it had been real and powerful. There had been a cooling, brought upon by simple touch.

There had been Draco.

She sighed for the umpteenth time, her finger resuming their drumming. Her lips even quirked up in a bit of a smile as she tapped ( _Rah- **ta** -tat- **TAT**_ ) over and over, a bit louder each time. If it was bothering Harry or Hermione, they'd say so and then she'd stop. But for now, this was the most interesting thing she'd found all day and so she planned to continue.

"Really Ginny. Stop." Ron said again, looking her square in the face. She just smiled and kept going, looking away back out the window. Ginny could feel Ron's temper flaring up, knew his face was turning a clashing shade of red, increasing with each tap of her fingers.

"Ginny..." She heard him start.

"Why don't you and I go get some lunch? Maybe take a bit of a walk. What do you say?"

That wasn't Ron, Ginny realized, looking away from the window and to the person beside her. That was Hermione. All three of the girl's friends looked at the bookworm with confused and surprised expressions, not expecting her to volunteer to give up on studying. Hermione sighed and rolled her eyes. "Honestly, come on Ginny. Just you and I, let's take a break."

Except it came out a lot more like 'come on Ginny, I know something's wrong and we're going to go have girl talk.' Something the girl wasn't sure she wanted to have right now or not. The events of this past week were a secret, something only Blaise, Luna and Draco knew about, other than herself of course, and she'd like to keep it that way. If she told Hermione, she'd start freaking out, looking up the effects of the spell and blaming anything on the after-effects, which wasn't the case at all.

In this past week, Ginny had felt something. Not just the burn of the potion, the ache of the need, but something more. Underneath all the side-effects and fire there had been something very, very real. A blossom born of flame and spitfire, and something all the more.

How could she get Hermione to understand that? Before she could answer herself, Ginny felt herself get pulled up and out of her seat, Hermione's arm under hers. Ginny let herself be guided out of the room in silence. She knew that when her friend was in this sort of mood, there was no way she could be persuaded to change it.

After several long, silent moments, the two ended up by the lake side, far enough away from others to have a bit of privacy, but still close enough to not look like they were trying to be alone. Hermione was serious about this. "Ok, spill. What's going on?"

"I don't know what you mean."

"Oh please, Harry and your brother may be thick, but I'm not. I've noticed that you were off all week. At first I thought you were sick, since you looked flushed, or maybe Harry was just overworking the Gryffindor Team, but then I didn't see you around the Common Room or anything. And now you're staring off into space with some sort of wistful expression. So, what happened?"

Ginny felt her face heat up as she looked at the lake before her. Damn Hermione and her perception. The girl really was too smart for her own good. Or anyone else's for that matter. What was she going to tell her? She couldn't very well lie because not only would Hermione figure it out, but it would be wrong. Ginny did try to be a good person whenever possible and lying wasn't on the list of things good people did.

"What if I told you," Ginny started slowly, sighing along the way. "That I think I'm falling in love?"

* * *

The sun was shining bright and clear, albeit be it an artificial replica of the real thing outside, but still the light in the room was full and bright. Its light streaming in through the open curtains and awakening the softly sleeping form that somehow still lay in bed despite the temptation the weather provided.

Draco was going to kill someone. He rolled over onto his stomach, throwing his cover over his head in a vain attempt to escape the rays of light causing a dull throb in the middle of his forehead. Well to be fair, it was the withdrawal of booze that was causing the pain, but the damnably bright sun was only making it worse. Whose damned idea had it been to charm fake windows down here? They were under the lake for Merlin's sake.

Groaning again, Draco snuck his hand from under his cover, raising it towards his bedside table. His fingers wrapped around the platinum gold watch he had received for his seventeenth birthday and pulled it under the covers with him. 7:15. Shite. He only had forty minutes to shower, dress, eat and get to Vector's class. How had he slept so late anyway? Not even hearing the lugs Crabbe and Goyle as they got ready for the morning. They weren't exactly graceful about it or most anything.

Oh wait, he knew how: Blaise Zabini and his damned Firewhiskey. Ever since the boy had heard of the various drinking games and events that muggles played, he had been unstoppable in his attempt to do them all. Never mind that he was a pureblood. Or that he often had class the very next day; he wanted to try them all. Last night had been something called "Thirty Thursdays" and Draco wished he bad not been so parched.

Summoning all his strength, Draco rolled himself up and out of bed. The light hit his face, seeming to pound in time with his headache and he scowled out the window in retaliation. Knowing he should hurry, the boy walked to the trunk at the foot of the bed next to his. Blaise was bound to have some Hangover Potion somewhere. He had been brewing the mud-green, disgusting potion since they turned sixteen, doubly so since taking on his drinking endeavours. It only took a bit of riffling for Draco to uncover the vial of green salvation. Thought it looked a bit lighter in color than usual.

Or was that his hangover messing with him?

Shrugging to himself, since no one was around to see him do it, the young man went on about his business. He had a hangover and that was where Blaise kept his cure alls. Without hesitating, he popped the top and downed the potion in just one mouthful. Very gentlemanly of him, he knows.

Feeling a preemptive spring in his step, he got up, gathered his toiletries and headed towards the showers. Better even, he only gave the sun a very weak glare, knowing that as soon as the potion got into his system fully, the orb wouldn't bother him anymore. Of course by this point he had even less time to get ready and get to class, especially if he was going to be able to get some breakfast, and a growing young man such as himself needs to eat. Thank you very much. But maybe it would be easiest to nip into the kitchens on his way to class instead, save the trip to the Great Hall.

After just a few moments and the quickest shower ever, Draco began to make his way out of the dungeons and towards the kitchens. The hallways were mostly barren, as everyone was either arriving at class or taking more scenic routes to their destinations, instead of coming via the dungeons. He was quite glad that the way was clear of other people though, as his head had managed to go from heavy and pounding, to light and airy. His skin felt like he was breaking out into a clammy sweat, like walking inside after a winter's jog. He shook his head to clear it but only succeeded in making the floor wobble a bit.

Was that potion expired?

\------

"Draco, can you here me?" The voice from above his head asked. It came from a mouth, but Draco couldn't tell which one, as this person seemed to have three. No two. Four? Wait. Can people have more than one mouth?

"Draco!" The voice said louder, as if that would help, even shaking his shoulder to boot. When it didn't get the response it wanted, a hand came up and smacked Draco lightly, but swiftly across the face. Draco's vision swam worse than before for a moment, before clearing up enough for him to make one details. Details like darkened skin, dark hair and a strong, familiar jaw.

"Go away Zabini."

"No, I can't go away. What's wrong with you? What are you feeling? You have to tell me."

Draco did his best to muster up a glare at his friend before closing his eyes again, using all his strength to keep from thrashing around, as if he could smother the flames along his skin. "Thanks, but no thanks Mother. You can leave me alone now. Quite obviously I don't feel well."

He felt Blaise shake his shoulder again and decided to ignore him. His plan was to go to sleep and not wake up until he felt better. He had Quidditch practice in the morning, but as the captain and all that, he could easily rearrange that plan. Besides, with the state he was in, getting on a broomstick seemed like a very bad idea. He was barely able to keep himself standing upright for longer than a couple of minutes, let alone have the balance and coordination necessary to fly.

But the hand on his shoulder was insistent, shaking harder and faster now. The fire in his shoulder burned hotter than, as if his skin were sizzling and crackling like logs in a fireplace. "Merlin Blaise, what the bloody hell do you want?"

"You have to tell me what you're feeling? Hot and flushed? Light headed? Stomach aching?"

"Yes, yes and yes. How did you know?"

Blaise was not affected by the suspicious glare that Draco leveled at him. Instead he just looked worried and perhaps a bit amused, which only served to worry Draco a lot. Anytime his best mate was amused, that meant something bad was going to happen to someone and right now that someone was him, he could tell. "You gotta get up mate. Come on. Up, up, up."

"Where are we going and what did I take?" Draco asked as he sat up in the bed, the ceiling and the floor swirling together oddly.

"Don't worry about it mate, you'll be fine. Just come on."

* * *

_I'd tell you that love is precious and that you should go after the person, because you deserve it."_

But where the hell was he? Ginny had run up and down these halls, taking random staircases and back entrances around the castle and she had seen nothing of the platinum blonde hair and dark grey eyes she wanted to see. How was she supposed to go after someone she couldn't find?

_"You wouldn't ask to know how or how?"_

Ginny hooked a left at the next corridor, following along the hallway for several minutes before reaching a dead end. She glared at the wall she swore wasn't there the last time she came this way a few years ago, before doing an about face and taking an offshoot hall on her left.

_"No, you aren't dumb Ginny and it wouldn't be my place to judge."_

Frustration rose high in her chest as she walked, no stalked at this point, the halls of Hogwarts. This was just getting ridiculous. Draco had to be in this castle somewhere and even in a place of this much size and magic, there were only so many places he could be. So where was he god damn it? The girl kicked a coat of armour to vent her frustration, only finding that it made her feel worse thanks to the pain.

"God damn it."

"Kiss your mother with that mouth, Weasley?"

Ginny whipped her head up to lock eyes with just the pair of lively greys that she had been looking for. He had found her, of course. It almost made sense in some whimsical romantic notion of a way and she found that it was a notion she could begin to like. "No, my kisses are reserved."

She watched his Adams apple bob as he swallowed her statement, trying not to react to it, despite the fact that she knew he felt it to. The need, the connection, it was still there, still growing between them. Beyond the power of the misguided potion, it spun its web around them, tightening and coaxing. Ginny walked up close to him, marveling in the way his pupils dilated, and his breath hitched just every so much. Not enough to make him look open nervous, but enough so that someone that had truly seen him, even just once, would know that he was actually feeling.

Without waiting for him to react or agree, she grabbed his Slytherin crested tie and pulled his face to hers. She ran her tongue slowly along the seam of his mouth, marveling in how he opened up to quickly to her. No real coaxing needed, just his body accepting that this was what he wanted, what he needed. Knowing that once was not enough. "Do you feel it?" She asked after breaking away, her mouth just a short breath from his.

"No," The boy whispered back, his soft tone made to sound hard and sure. "The effect is over. No more potion in the system."

Again without warning she pulled him to her, though this time it seemed like the boy was ready. His hands went to her waist, holding her stead against him as his tongue entered her mouth, playing, teasing, and fighting back against her advances. The kiss an extension of their usual back and forth, the foreplay they built up in snarky words and fake dirty looks.

Pulling her face from Draco's with quite some effort, Ginny rested her forehead against his, her body perfectly aligned with his, feeling every hard muscle and smooth line. "Liar."

For just a moment, Draco closed his eyes, his heavy breath in time with hers. She felt the connection between the two of them hum and swirl, the newfound emotions blossoming under their shared breath. For just a moment Ginny thought she had him. Until he pulled away and turned his back to her, walking down the hall without a backward glance.

\------

They say that opportunity often comes in the disguise of misfortune or defeat. Walking towards the Great Hall for diner, Ginny felt that defeat loud and clear. The opportunity she thought she had with Draco had been nothing but a disguise for pain and disappointment. She had wandered the castle for awhile after her let down, not feeling up to dealing with other people or the pointed looks that Hermione would undoubtedly give her. All she wanted to do was wallow for a bit, get pruny in her misery in hopes that it would drown the blossom in her chest.

But the blossom was still there, willing her to pull her eyes away from the floor beneath her feet and instead see the storm that was looking into her, inviting her into the eyes of it, where she would be safe.


End file.
